Forum Moderators: martinibuster
1. Standard G border color
2. Border color matching website colors
3. No border at all
Also, colored background or standard white?
I know I can test this myself but would still like some input in advance.
Thanks
Effective in what way? If you feel the need to annoy your visitors, follow the tips in the postings above. If you care about your users and about keeping ads and real content separate: use borders.
Just my opinion, of course.
I know I can test this myself but would still like some input in advance.
The effectiveness will vary from site to site, so you'll need to test it on your particular site and layout to see which works best for you. It may turn out to be the exact opposite of what is posted.
no border... text and links to match other text and links on your site.. make it look like your page and they will click on it...
But please don't moan about your declining EPC when low conversions result in bigger smart-pricing discounts for advertisers.
But please don't moan about your declining EPC when low conversions result in bigger smart-pricing discounts for advertisers.
I have seen no evidence at all that this is even an issue. The "smart-pricing" that I have witnessed has been more or less random, and at least for my sites, smart pricing has been non-existant anyway since advertisers were given some control over where their ads will run.
My overall EPC has actually increased by almost 50% since "the big change" and my ads couldn't get any more blended in. Even better, for the past month or so I have noticed advertisers who had opted out of the content network back to running ads on my sites.
It's really quite simple: Unless the visitor HAS to click on an AdSense ad (i.e. if there are plenty of other links on the page to choose from), there is at least some interest in the ad. Therefore conversion rates will depend less on the publisher's site and almost entirely on the:
1 - Ad copy
2 - Sales page
If the ad poorly reflects what the visitor will find on the sales page or the sales page itself sucks, conversions will be more or less non-existant. Conversions are the responsibilty of the advertiser, not the publisher. And I say that as an advertiser who spends thousands per month on AdWords.
Bottom line: Build a quality site that gives the visitors plenty of options for clicking away from the page (in addition to AdSense), then blend in your ads as much as possible. Your bank balance will go up, Google will love you and the advertisers who have at least a clue about writing good ads for great sales pages will reward you.
Smart pricing? Not even an issue if you follow the above advice.
The bordered ad greatly outperforms the unbordered ads.
Go figure.
The only rule about AdSense presentation is that there are no rules. What works for me may not work for you and vice-versa.
